Colorado auction funds conservation

Highlands Ranch Chapter offering coveted license

Colorado Ducks Unlimited will be auctioning off a 2018 statewide moose license in April. Last year, the state set a record for this coveted license with a winning bid of $62,000.

In May 2017, DU Director of Development Kirk Davidson auctioned off the Colorado tag during a Denver area DU dinner banquet. Interested buyers were in the audience as well as phone-in bidders and when the gavel fell and Davidson announced “SOLD” Georgia businessman and retired Army veteran Tony Loop had the highest bid of $62,000 setting a record for the tag.

Several Rocky Mountain states have governor’s tags available, some by raffle, others through a live auction. Since 2012, Colorado DU has been awarded a statewide moose auction license by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. This sought-after license allows a hunter to hunt in any open moose unit in Colorado, including archery, rifle and muzzleloader seasons. In addition, while the Colorado moose season ends in mid-October, the holder of this license may continue to hunt until December 31, 2018 with all legal methods of take. Except for these few special tags, all Colorado moose licenses are extremely limited and awarded by random drawing.

DU’s special license was approved by the Colorado legislature with the specific goal of providing a small number of licenses to conservation organizations for fundraising purposes. DU returns at least 75 percent of the proceeds from the sale of this license to Colorado Parks and Wildlife where the funds are used for moose research, management and education projects. DU retains 25 percent of the proceeds for additional wetlands conservation efforts. Wetlands habitat is used and enjoyed by both mallards and moose.